“I’ll explain later,” she assured him.
“Who are you?” Liam asked.
“I’m Charlie. This is my son, Dylan, that’s Mal, and those are our friends. Now, as much as I would love to stand here and exchange life stories, or perhaps discuss the weather, I’d much prefer not to burn to death. Wehaveto go.”
They all stared at her with a mixture of amusement and astonishment. Then, Liam and Mike started chuckling.
“You’re perfect for Jack,” Mike said, and the others laughed.
“Great,” she said.
“Where’s Jack?” Mike asked.
“He’s coming,” Charlie told him and glanced behind her as longing speared her heart. “Or he was coming. He told us to run and to… to—” Her voice broke before she steadied herself. “—to keep going.”
“Are you okay, Mom?” Dylan asked.
She tore her attention away from the trees and forced a smile for her son. “I’m fine,” she assured him before looking to Mike again. “Wecan’tstay here. The fire is spreading.”
“Then let’s get you out of here,” Liam said.
“Can we trust them, Mal?” Darlene asked in a low whisper every vampire heard.
Mal hesitated before replying, “Some of them smell a little off.”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t go with them,” Darlene murmured.
Charlie glanced nervously at the spreading fire; they were wasting time here. Jack trusted these vamps with his life, and they had come back for him, which was more than enough for her, but she understood the hesitance of the others. They didn’t know these vamps.
Mal was the one who protected them and kept them alive all these years, and if he didn’t trust them, they wouldn’t either. She hated the idea of splitting up from Mal and the others, but she would do anything to get Dylan off the island.
“You’re a purebred?” Liam asked Mal.
“Yes,” Mal said.
“I can assure you we’re all fine, but some of us have killed to protect ourselves,” Liam said. “I’m Liam, and these are my children, Ethan, Isabelle, Abby, Aiden, and Ian. They’re all purebreds too.” He pointed to each of them as he said their names. “These are their mates, Stefan, Brian, Maggie, and Paige. These are my friends Mike and David. David’s mate, Mia, stayed with the boats. Mike told us what’s going on here, so I understand your hesitance to come with us, but we’re here to help if you’ll let us.”
“Canwetrustthem?” Maggie asked.
“We don’t have a choice,” Ian said. “She’s Jack’s mate, and if we’re going to save him, then we have to save her too. Besides, none of them smell off.”
“We’re survivors,” Charlie said.
“We’ll take you to the boats,” Mike said, “and get you off the island.”
Mal studied Liam before looking at Mike. “You’re the one who escaped the other day?”
“Yes,” Mike responded.
“We’ll come with you then,” Mal said, and Charlie heaved a sigh of relief.
“Get them out of here,” Brian ordered. “I’ll find Jack and meet you at the boats.”
“I’m coming with you,” Abby said.
“So am I,” Stefan seconded.
Isabelle clasped Stefan’s hand. “Me too.”
